RCMP collaborating with Haitian, U.S. authorities after Canadian missionary kidnapped – National
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say they’re collaborating with Haitian and American authorities after a Canadian missionary was kidnapped east of the capital of Port-au-Prince over the weekend in gang-related violence.
The Canadian was amongst 17 Christian Assist Ministries missionaries who have been kidnapped by the notoriously violent 400 Mawozo gang as they have been leaving an orphanage on Sunday. The remaining have been U.S. residents.
“The RCMP takes this example very severely and is collaborating with Haitian and American policing authorities on this incident,” a police spokesperson stated on Tuesday, in an emailed assertion to International Information.
The RCMP stated it will not present additional particulars, because the police unit “doesn’t touch upon ongoing investigations performed by different international locations.”
In an updated statement, Christian Aid Ministries said the 5 youngsters who have been kidnapped ranged from eight months to fifteen years of age. The 12 adults being held captive, who consisted of 5 males and 7 girls, ranged from 18 to 48 years outdated.
The non secular group stated the work accomplished by the missionaries supported “hundreds of needy faculty youngsters, distributing Bibles and Christian literature, supplying medicines for quite a few clinics, instructing Haitian pastors, and offering meals for the aged and weak.”
In current months, Christian Assist Ministries stated they have been “actively concerned in coordinating a rebuilding venture for individuals who misplaced their houses within the August 2021 earthquake.”
White Home press secretary Jen Psaki stated Tuesday that FBI tactical groups are in Port Au Prince negotiating for the secure launch of all 17 missionaries.
A prime Haitian official informed the Related Press on Tuesday that the 400 Mawozo gang is demanding a ransom of US$17 million — a million for every kidnapped missionary.
In an emailed assertion to International Information, International Affairs Canada stated officers have been in touch with the Canadian’s household and offering them with consular help.
“Our first precedence is all the time the security and safety of Canadian residents. International Affairs Canada is conscious {that a} Canadian citizen was kidnapped in Haiti,” the assertion learn.
“Canada takes this example very severely and is collaborating with Haitian and American policing authorities in addition to implicated NGOs on this incident.”
Crime has been skyrocketing in southern components of the Haitian capital for the reason that assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse, and an earthquake that left more than 2,200 dead.
Inter-gang violence accounts for roughly 75 per cent of 549 cases of main crime and civil unrest between Could and August of this yr, according to a report issued last month by the United Nations Built-in Workplace in Haiti.
Equally, kidnappings are additionally on the rise. The report discovered there have been 328 documented kidnappings within the first eight months of 2021, in contrast with 234 for all of 2020.
Extra to return…
— With information from the Related Press
© 2021 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
https://globalnews.ca/information/8279048/rcmp-canadian-kidnapped-in-haiti/ | RCMP collaborating with Haitian, U.S. authorities after Canadian missionary kidnapped – Nationwide
